The 28th Annual Howard E. Deppe All-Star Baseball Classic was played Saturday, June 1, at Limeport Stadium, with a team comprised primarily of players from the Lehigh Valley Conference (the red team) downing a team assembled generally from teams in the Colonial League (the blue team) 11-4.

The game raises money for the American Cancer Society and also provides a final high school memory for graduating seniors from area schools. Easton's Nick Beinlich was chosen as the Outstanding Player of the game for the red team as he found ways to contribute throughout the game.

Beinlich drew a walk in the first inning and stole two bases before scoring on an RBI single as the red team grabbed an early 4-0 lead. Later in the game, Beinlich doubled to contribute again to the offense. With his team holding a 4-2 edge, Beinlich came on to pitch two perfect innings, striking out three hitters.

Catasauqua's Zac Edwards picked up two hits, two RBI and a stolen base and was chosen as the Outstanding Player of the Game for the blue squad.

"I was a little surprised, but I'm just grateful to receive the award," said Edwards. "It's great, because it benefits beating cancer and it's great just to come out and get to play against these guys."

The game provided players with a chance to play with guys they had previously only played against and also gave them a chance to face players from another league that they don't generally get to play against. The rivalry between the Colonial League and Lehigh Valley Conference was something that a few players mentioned when talking about the game.

"The Colonial League gets a little bashed when they're compared to the LVC, so it's good to come out and face them," said Edwards. "We hung with them pretty well until late in the ball game and then it kind of got away from us."

The event also featured a pre-game hitting contest, where contestants were awarded points for how far they were able to hit each of ten pitches. The hitting contest was won by Northwestern's Richard Perry, who got the nod by two points.

"I felt pretty good after my round, but I didn't necessarily expect to win," said Perry. "There were a lot of batters and they're all pretty good, so I'm happy for it."

The game featured a unique way of involving literally every player. The batting order included every player on the roster and they hit in the order of their jersey number. Players were also allowed to be reinserted defensively throughout the game. Because of PIAA rules, players from schools that are involved in the PIAA Tournament were ineligible to play, keeping players from Parkland and Salisbury on the sidelines.